The letter that Krysteen Hamilton-Wescott left at the Vietnam Wall to her father yesterday said, “I am trying to understand why this had to happened to us.”
Sgt 1st Class Robert H Wescott Jr.
by David Miller,
I met Krysteen Hamilton-Wescott at the “Wall” in D.C. today. She is a Gold Star Child, but did not know that until recently. She was sitting quietly underneath, and touching the engraving of her father’s name as hundreds of people passed behind her. She shared with me the story of how she found out her father, a highly ranked, seasoned, enlisted Army combat soldier led his soldiers into battle and because he was “leading his men”, was the target of the first shot from the enemy.
Sgt 1st Class Robert H Wescott Jr.
Sgt 1st Class Robert H Wescott Jr., (Top Wescott) and his platoon were clearing out a Viet Cong-controlled bunker in Tay Ninh Province on April 29, 1969 when he was hit in the chest with a rocket-propelled grenade. At the time of death, he was leading a mortar platoon with the 1st 8th Calvary, also known as the Jumping Mustangs. He died in Tay Ninh. Krysteen said she didn’t know he existed back then.
Because her mother and Robert Wescott had divorced, Krysteen had not attend her father’s funeral. Additionally, her mother had not even been aware of his death. It wasn’t until recently that Krysteen knew anything at all about her father.
This day sitting alone underneath the granite panels was one more day that Krysteen has spent in a quest to learn about her hero. The letter to her father said, “I am trying to understand why this had to happened to us.”
The 34~year-oId Army veteran was a student and lived in Philadelphia before enlisting in 1953. During his military career, Wescott was awarded 22 medals including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for Merit. The Vietnam War cost the United States 58,000 lives and 350,000 casualties.
Krysteen Hamilton-Wescott lives in Searingtown, New York.
Click to Enlarge and read the Fathers Day letter Krysteen was leaving at the Vietnam Wall.
